US Bike fatalities up 6.5% in 2012

Analysis and details. There were 726 deaths, the highest number since 2006 but still well below the 1003 reported in 1975. There were 49,000 estimated injuries, an increase of 2.1% over 2011.

Part of this is likely because more people are riding bikes than were riding in the past, so it's no so unexpected that fatalities would go up too. Still, when the "Safety in Numbers" theory is brought into play it is a somewhat disturbing trend, this being the 3rd year of increase in a row. There is no doubt that biking is safer today than it was in 2004 when there was almost an idenical number of fatalities, but there is still room for improvement.

I still think the safety in numbers thing is important. Right now there's substantial push back against cyclists, but I think we can push through that by just continuing to be out there.

Although I did have a guy in a truck with a Romney sticker try to sideswipe and pinch me this week, when I was in a bike lane and he had a stop sign. Some push back is too much, and I am afraid some new cyclists will quit out of fear.

I don't know much about motorcycle helmets and it really isn't my issue, but I still found this disturbing: "There were 10 times as many unhelmeted motorcyclist fatalities in States without universal helmet laws (1,858 unhelmeted fatalities) as in States with universal helmet laws (178 unhelmeted fatalities) in 2012. These States were nearly equivalent with respect to total resident populations."

What in blazes does that mean? Did the motorcycle helmet law reduce the number of per capita fatalities or not? Meaningless statistics like this make me feel as though I'm being lied to.

look at the seasonal pattern. The number of fatals is DOWN in the summer, which certainly supports the safety in numbers concept. The increase was almost entirely in the winter, when the fewest folks are cycling (though probably more than in past years)